NEW YORK—Joe Saunders might have looked cool as he kept striking guys out and marched deep into the fourth inning without allowing a hit. But the jitters were there inside, and they wouldn’t be ignored.

This was Yankee Stadium, after all, and it was filled with 54,450 fans who love to rattle opposing rookie pitchers.

“In the first inning, my left knee was shaking a little bit. Hopefully, it didn’t show,” Saunders said.

The Angels’ rookie left-hander couldn’t get to sleep until 6 o’clock Friday morning as he thought of the messes he could get into, but he kept a firm grip on his nerves while pitching the Angels to a 7-4 victory over the New York Yankees.

It’s hard to tell the rookies from the veterans anymore. Saunders (4-0) and Jered Weaver (7-0) are showing none of the usual signs of first-year nerves, and it is keeping the Angels rotation afloat. Minus ace Bartolo Colon, the rotation is relying on young poise.

Saunders worked through the Yankees lineup with pluck and a deft touch at changing speeds. He got through six innings while allowing just two earned runs. When things looked in danger of falling apart, he got help from a teammate. With runners on first and second and no outs in the sixth inning, Chone Figgins charged Alex Rodriguez’s hard line drive and made a tumbling catch in center field.

Saunders did the rest. He jammed Jason Giambi to get an inning-ending double play.If older pitchers are supposed to be the ones who with the moxie in a pennant race, Saunders and Weaver aren’t buying it.

“They don’t feel intimidated out there,” reliever Scot Shields said. “I think it’s unusual for young guys to come up and do that, but I’m glad they have that composure.”

It could bode well for the Angels’ chances in September that their youngest pitchers have handled mental hurdles deep into August.

“If you can pitch here, you can pitch pretty much anywhere,” Saunders said.

The Angels hitters get some credit for keeping Saunders’ butterflies from fluttering. They staked him to a 3-0 lead after three innings. Garret Anderson slammed a solo home run off Cory Lidle, and Maicer Izturis hit a two-run shot an inning later.

Izturis is an odd choice to be in the middle of the Angels’ offensive renaissance, but he’s there nonetheless. He drove in three runs and scored three more on a 3-for-5 night. Izturis has gotten a hold of the No..2 spot in the lineup and clung to it. He is batting .359 and has scored 31 runs in his last 32 games.

He is concentrating on taking more pitches to set the table for Orlando Cabrera, Vladimir Guerrero and Garret Anderson, and it has brought out the best in his game. Maybe he’ll no longer be thought of as a defensive specialist.

“I’ve got a little more experience. I’m seeing more pitchers because I’m getting to play more,” Izturis said.